Plan for National Glass Centre replacement put on hold as Lib Dem councillors pull brake on ‘downgrade’

Plans for a new glass making facility in Sunderland have been temporarily halted as opposition councillors have demanded a chance to scrutinise the proposals before they can be given the green light.

Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition on the City Council Paul Edgeworth who triggered the pause in the project said councillors, residents and campaigners didn’t believe the Council had seriously tried to save the existing National Glass Centre - and that there are serious questions to answer about whether the replacement site is fit for purpose.

On 24 July Sunderland City Council’s Labour cabinet approved spending £2.4million and starting ‘design and enabling works’ on the former Peter Smith Antiques building in Sunniside, where it is envisaged the new glass making facility ‘Glassworks’ will be housed.

But opposition councillors have triggered a rarely used 'Call In' procedure to temporarily block the plans until Council bosses can adequately explain their decisions and whether spending represents value for money.

Senior council staff and ruling councillors from the Cabinet will now be hauled in front of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee at a meeting on 11 September to answer questions about whether the site is fit for purpose.

Until that time all spending and decisions about the project have been paused, and can only go ahead if the Scrutiny Committee agrees tat the plans can proceed.

Commenting, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition on Sunderland City Council Paul Edgeworth said:

“If Sunderland Labour’s councillors, MPs, regional mayor and Government wanted to save the National Glass Centre they absolutely could. All that is missing is the willingness to do it. Instead they have bowed down to pressure from Sunderland University who don’t seem to care one bit about our city’s best visitor attraction.

“Sunderland Council are asking us to applaud plans for a new ‘Glassworks’ development even though it will be a massive downgrade on the existing Glass Centre and even though the plans aren’t fit for purpose. It isn’t clear that the building is suitable or that there is even enough money to build and staff it. The proposal isn’t a proper replacement for the National Glass Centre and the current plans will leave glass makers without a home for 2 years between the Glass Centre closing and a new facility opening - in which time talented makers and artists will have had to find work elsewhere and centuries of glassmaking history on Wearside will stop, possibly for good.

“That’s why Lib Dem councillors have forced a pause in the plans, are dragging Council bosses kicking and screaming to answer difficult questions about the National Glass Centre fiasco in a public meeting next month. Local people deserve answers and deserve a Council that has the guts to save the National Glass Centre.”